| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Millennium Dome (HFCs)
30. Mr. Robert Syms (Poole): What recent representations he has received on the use of hydrofluorocarbons at the millennium dome. [50798]
The Minister without Portfolio (Mr. Peter Mandelson): I have recently received a number of representations from members of the public, via their Members of Parliament, about the use of HFCs in the air cooling system at the millennium dome.
Mr. Syms: Does not the Minister think that it is a shame that we are using HFCs, which result in global
warming, in what should be a major flagship project? Natural alternatives are available, so will he reconsider the decision or leave a note for his successor to do so?
Mr. Mandelson: I am glad to say that I shall beleaving any notes on the dome for myself. Thehon. Gentleman should bear in mind the fact thatHFC refrigerants are a widely used alternative to theless environmentally friendly chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons--CFCs and HCFCs. I accept that that procurement, with its use of HFC refrigerants, has not met with universal approval, but the company believes that the chiller units selected offer the safest and most flexible solution, given the time and budgetary constraints under which we are operating. The company has set a target that HFC emissions from the units will not exceed 1 per cent., which more than meets the provisions of the voluntary agreement between the Government and the refrigeration industry, which cites emissions of 10 per cent. So, that is pretty good doing for the dome.
Millennium Experience (Corporate Sponsorship)
31. Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): If he will make a statement on progress in attracting corporate sponsorship for the millennium experience. [50799]
The Minister without Portfolio (Mr. Peter Mandelson): The New Millennium Experience Company is to be congratulated on the significant progress that it has made in attracting private sector sponsorship. As I reported to the House earlier, more than £100 million has been secured thus far, including contributions from British Telecom, BSkyB, Manpower, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, British Airways and BAA plc. The company is well on its way to meeting its target of £150 million by the end of the year.
Mr. Bercow: I am grateful to the Minister for that informative answer. Exactly how many of the corporate sponsors of the millennium experience come from the manufacturing sector of industry, for the devastated state of which he has today accepted responsibility?
Mr. Mandelson: For pure brass neck and nerve, that probably takes a large biscuit. The hon. Gentleman will not be disappointed to find leading British manufacturing companies represented in the dome because they are providing considerable sponsorship, as will be reported to the House shortly.
Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley): Does my hon. Friend's answer mean that with the corporate sponsorship each zone of the dome will be open exactly as planned and completed in the way predicted a few months ago?
Mr. Mandelson: Yes, not only will the dome be completed on time to a very high quality, but I am glad to say that, following the Prime Minister's visit to the dome for the topping-out ceremony, when he described it as
- "too good to pull down",
Mr. Robert Maclennan (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross): May I, on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends, congratulate the Minister on his advancement? I hope that he will be successful in his new role in encouraging sponsorship, not only for the millennium experience, but for the arts and millennium experiences in other parts of the country, as many of the companies that he has said are involved at Greenwich have a presence the length and breadth of Great Britain.
Mr. Mandelson: I am grateful for the comments by the right hon. Gentleman. The millennium dome will feature not only the first-class design for which the United Kingdom is becoming famous, but many of our applied arts, too. The right hon. Gentleman will recall that the millennium celebrations will mean not only the dome and the associated national programme, but a £100 million nationwide sporting, cultural, heritage and artistic festival that will allow the entire country to have an excellent year-long new year's eve party.
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
The hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked--
1997 Report and Accounts
39. Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet): What representations the Church Commissioners have received following the publication of their 1997 report and accounts. [50807]
Mr. Stuart Bell (Second Church Estates Commissioner, representing the Church Commissioners): As I am a modest hon. Member, let me say that the Church Commissioners have received praise for their performance, and support for their investment strategy. In 1997, the value of assets increased by £505 million to £3.48 billion. The performance of the stock exchange and property portfolios has been independently measured as better than the performance of 99 per cent. of other funds.
Sir Sydney Chapman: I welcome the return on assets achieved by the commissioners in 1997, which was in the order of 20.8 per cent., following an increase of nearly 18 per cent. in 1996. Will the commissioner assure us that the increase in assets will be used to benefit parishes directly, particularly the most needy ones?
Mr. Bell: Yes. The increased value of the assets will enable us to continue to work with parishes to ensure stable and sustainable financial support for the Church into the next millennium. As the hon. Gentleman has said,
the value of assets has grown strongly in recent years, and that follows a change in investment policy away from a high-yielding, low-growth mix of assets to a fund based- more on stock exchange investments, which offer higher growth prospects in the longer term.
Mr. Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): Following that question, will my hon. Friend comment on that proof of good Government practice, which shows that returns will come from a popular Labour Government delivering their commitments, and on how companies can deliver resources on the Church's behalf?
Madam Speaker: Order. That is not at all related to the question.
Ethical Investment Policy
40. Mr. Ben Bradshaw (Exeter): What steps the Church Commissioners have taken to communicate their ethical investment policy to the wider Church. [50808]
Mr. Stuart Bell (Second Church Estates Commissioner, representing the Church Commissioners): The Church of England's ethical investment working group, which co-ordinates that work, makes an annual report of its activities to the Synod. I recently attended an excellent meeting at York at which the group's work was discussed with a regular to and fro between the commissioners and Church people.
Mr. Bradshaw: Does my hon. Friend agree that his job in getting the message of ethical investment over would be made much easier if the bishops gathered at Lambeth spent more time discussing ethics and less indulging in their apparent obsession with what consenting Anglicans do in the privacy of their bedrooms?
Mr. Bell: On the first part of that question, ethical policy in the wider Church is not likely to be debated at the Lambeth conference, but my hon. Friend will be pleased to learn that there will be a debate on third world debt. The resolutions will be debated next week and will be concluded in the final week of the conference.
Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey): As well as communicating their ethical investment policy to the Church, could the Church Commissioners do more to ensure that policy reflects the views of members of the Church? Will the hon. Gentleman ensure that there is full consultation with the ordinary people in the pew before the commissioners make their ethical investment decisions?
Mr. Bell: Yes. There is a full consultation procedure. Our ethical investment working group is always looking at positive criteria. We examine every company portfolio in which we invest and take that back to the Church through the Synod. Not only was there a fringe meeting on ethical investment policy at the Synod, but we made a report to the Synod through the First Estates Commissioner. The debate is on-going, but we always welcome the hon. Gentleman's comments and those of others in this field.
Mr. Michael Jabez Foster (Hastings and Rye): What plans do the Church Commissioners have, in respect of
investing in their core business, for celebrating the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Church's founder? Is there any possibility of investment in the millennium dome?
Mr. Bell: I am always grateful for suggestions on how best we should spend our money. Investment in the dome lies outside the responsibilities of the Second Church Estates Commissioner, but in a personal capacity I have worked with others to ensure that the spirit zone will be a success, be properly financed and built, and reflect our Christian heritage.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |